WWE Cuts On The Way, Royal Rumble Plans, Harris & McGillicutty

- As of this past weekend, WWE’s creative team reportedly did not have the finish booked for Sunday’s Royal Rumble match.

– Nexus member Mason Ryan and SmackDown stars Jack Swagger and Drew McIntyre confirmed as participants for Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view last night on RAW. This brings the total number of announced participants to 28 (19 from RAW and 9 from SmackDown), with 12 spots remaining open.

Expect several more names to be announced on Friday’s SmackDown, but WWE will almost certainly leave a few “mystery” spots open to get people talking about possible surprise entrants.

– Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas speculated on the Right After Wrestling podcast that WWE including 40 men in this year’s Rumble match could be a sign that roster cuts are on the way.

WWE sometimes features a battle royal at WrestleMania as a way of giving as many wrestlers as possible an extra pay-per-view payday, so that payday may be coming early for some before they are let go. The company usually does “spring cleaning” after WrestleMAnia and the company’s recent disappointing earnings estimates and declining stock price are a gloomy sign for many in the company.

– Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty will be getting another shot at the WWE tag team champions very soon, either at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view or the next night on RAW.